Aileen Carol Wuornos
Overview
Aileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer who murdered men in Florida between late 1989 and late 1990. Born Aileen Carol Pittman on February 29, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan, she later took the surname Wuornos after being raised by her maternal grandparents. Her life was marked by instability, abuse, homelessness, criminal arrests, and long periods of drifting. By the late 1980s, she was living in Florida and working along highways, truck stops, bars, and roadside areas where she met men, accepted rides, and sometimes exchanged sex for money.
Wuornos became known for a series of shootings involving male motorists. She claimed for much of the case that the men had attacked, raped, or attempted to rape her and that she killed them in self-defense. Prosecutors argued that the killings were robberies and that she targeted men for money, vehicles, and belongings. Her accounts changed over time, and the case became one of the most heavily discussed American murder cases involving a female offender.
Pattern of the Crimes
The known crimes followed a similar pattern. Wuornos met men while traveling or working along Florida roads. The men were later found shot, usually in remote or wooded areas. Several victims had their vehicles abandoned elsewhere, and some personal items were pawned, discarded, or found in connection with Wuornos and her partner, Tyria Moore. The weapon connected to the killings was a .22-caliber firearm. Police eventually linked the crimes through abandoned cars, pawn records, witness sightings, fingerprints, and statements from Moore.
The killings occurred across central and northern Florida, including Volusia, Citrus, Pasco, Marion, and Dixie Counties. The victims were mostly middle-aged or older men who encountered Wuornos while driving. Although she confessed to seven killings, she was convicted in six because one victim's body was never recovered.
Victims
- Richard Charles Mallory - Age 51. Mallory was an electronics shop owner from Clearwater, Florida. He was last known to have encountered Wuornos around November 30, 1989. His abandoned vehicle was found on December 1, 1989, in Volusia County, and his body was found on December 13, 1989, in a wooded area near Daytona Beach. He had been shot multiple times. Wuornos was later tried and convicted for his murder.
- David Andrew Spears - Age 43. Spears was a construction worker. His body was found on June 1, 1990, in a remote area of southwest Citrus County, Florida, near U.S. Route 19. He had been shot six times in the torso. Spears had been missing before the discovery of his body, and his death became one of the early links in the growing pattern of roadside murders.
- Charles Edmund Carskaddon Jr. - Age 40. Carskaddon was a part-time rodeo worker. He was last seen alive on May 31, 1990, after leaving home for a trip to Tampa. His body was found on June 6, 1990, in a secluded area of Pasco County, Florida. He had been shot multiple times. His vehicle and belongings were found separately, and property connected to him later helped investigators tie Wuornos to the crime.
- Peter Abraham Siems - Age 65. Siems was a retired merchant seaman who disappeared in June 1990 while traveling from Jupiter, Florida. His car was found abandoned after a crash on July 4, 1990, near Orange Springs, Florida. Witnesses reported seeing two women leave the vehicle, and Wuornos's palm print was found inside the car. Siems's body was never found, so there is no verified date of death. Wuornos later confessed to killing him, but she was not convicted of his murder because his remains were never recovered.
- Troy Eugene Burress - Age 50. Burress was a sausage salesman from Ocala, Florida. He was reported missing on July 31, 1990, after failing to complete his delivery route. His body was found on August 4, 1990, in a wooded area in Marion County, Florida, near the Ocala National Forest region. He had been shot twice. His delivery truck had been abandoned, and cash was missing from his belongings.
- Charles Richard Dick Humphreys - Age 56. Humphreys was a retired Air Force major, former police chief, and child-abuse investigator for the State of Florida. His body was found on September 12, 1990, in Marion County, Florida. He was fully clothed and had been shot multiple times in the head and torso. His car was later found in Suwannee County, showing the same pattern of a victim killed in one area and a vehicle abandoned elsewhere.
- Walter Jeno Antonio - Age 62. Antonio was a truck driver and security guard. His body was found on November 19, 1990, in Dixie County, Florida, in a remote area. He had been shot. His vehicle was later found abandoned, and the circumstances of his death matched the broader pattern of Wuornos's roadside killings. Antonio is generally listed as the final known victim in the series.
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